Brownie experiment

A massive apology for not posting anything of late......for a while there, I had been whipping myself into a baking frenzy at the weekends but was stopped in my tracks this time last week when I managed to cut my finger by accident with a large serrated knife. I didn't hit bone but it was deep enough so getting through work was bad enough. Luckily, the cut looks to be sealing up now so I am on the mend and have no excuses!!

A few weeks ago, I started doing a bit of experimenting/tweeking recipes to create my perfect/ultimate brownie. Its not exactly groundbreaking stuff but am definitely venturing into new territory on a personal note as I have never been one to amend recipes - I have found so far though that its very rewarding when one hits on something that really pleases one's palate :)

I began with making a batch using Ma Chan's tried and trusted recipe (an amended version of recipe handout from a now defunct Emerald Isle supermarket!). The result was a little on the dry side for me (might have overcooked it a tad) and not enough depth of chocolate flavour.

The 2nd version was an attempt at Joanne Chang's recipe which caught my eye since it claimed it was the perfect balance of fudginess and cakiness. I have to confess that I am a   "cakey" brownie lover with just a hint of "fudginess". I was also intrigued at the idea of whisking eggs and sugar (as opposed to just mixing/folding) to give the brownie a lighter texture so decided I had to try it out. This recipe had the additional requirement of me buying a new pan since the recipe fits standard US pans :(

The result was not bad, the edges definitely had the cakey/fudgey balance but I think I may have undercooked it slightly as the rest if the tray were a bit too fudgey for my liking....depth of chocolate flavour was still lacking.....

My final recipe to try out was one found on Tamami's website for luxury brownies. I have been lucky to try out some of the goodies she sells at her stall in Broadway Market and was confident that these would not disappoint. Since I was low on nuts, my version would not count as "luxury" and I also decided to cut back on butter and sugar compared to the original recipe. Funnily enough, this recipe called for yet another method (boiling butter and sugar before adding to chocolate/eggs mixture) which I had never come across but worked just as well. This was the only recipe out of the 3 which called for cocoa powder in addition to chocolate which I think contributes to the presence of that elusive depth of chocolate flavour that I have been looking for. This brownie was definitely our (me and JD) favourite out of the 3 baked so thank you Tamami! :) 

Brownies galore!

Version 1: too "cakey"

Version 2: too "fudgey"

Version 3: just about right :)